Chapter Twenty-Eight

~ Estel ~
I stared over the wall, but I didn't see anything. I knew that the flag of Rohan flapping, but I didn't feel the wind that was pushing it. I knew that the armory was just below me, but I didn't hear it. I knew that I leaning on a cold stone wall, but I didn't feel that either.

My mind was racing over everything that had happened to me. Falling over the cliff. Waking up in the care of Lord Elrond. Attending the Council of Elrond. Traveling with the Fellowship of the Ring. Getting to know Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Mithrandir, Boromir, Gimli, Legolas, . . . and Aragorn. Entering Lothlórien and gasping at its beauty. Being reunited with my brother. Fighting against Boromir, and then against the Uruk-hai. Seeing the Fellowship break apart, and bidding farewell to my brother . . . again. Running for days and nights until we entered Rohan. Encountering first Mithrandir, and then Eldarion. Meeting Théoden, and then Éowyn. And now . . . now this.

My heart sunk as I realized that I had arrived at the news of Aragorn's . . . death.

I felt the urge to let out a rather bitter laugh. I had dealt with the death of my family members so many times – my father, my mother, my aunt, my uncle, my grandmother, my sister – that often, when I'd had time to myself, I had secretly wondered if the loss of one or two or three or a hundred more could hurt me anymore – if it could hurt me at all.

Well, now I had my answer – the pain was overwhelming. It was like every little pang of regret and pain and longing I had experienced for every other member of my family rolled into one, gigantic, crushing blow of reality.

I was human. I was mortal. I could die any day, any minute, any second now.

I slammed a hand down on the wall. But no! Instead, I kept living, kept feeling, kept knowing that I had lived because others had died.

I fingered the Elessar. It was the token that had become Aragorn's namesake. It was how the people had recognized their King. And it was a reminder that even though Aragorn was dead, he would have . . . he would have wanted us to know that he'd only died so we could carry on when he couldn't.

I closed my eyes. So it comes to this. Aragorn had had no children or siblings of the sort. He had died without leaving behind an heir of any kind. So, by blood and right and ceremony, the decision of what to do next fell to me, the last leader of the Believers.

I could not – no, would not take Aragorn's throne. No, that was Eldarion's right. He was the lawful male heir, second to me only because he hadn't been around when my grandmother had died and so she had been forced to choose me.

Yes, that was right. If we survived this mess, Eldarion would be the one the people looked to as a leader. Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn – they would support Eldarion. He did have claims to the throne by blood, as a descendant of Aragorn. And the Dúnedain would not question Eldarion if Lord Elrond stood behind him.

I sighed. I would have to find Eldarion and Legolas now, and apologize for my abrupt departure. I was kind of surprised that Eldarion would just let me go, although Aragorn's death probably hurt him as much as it hurt me. And anyways, this time alone had been good for me. I had needed some quiet place to reflect on everything.

I turned around and jumped at least three feet in the air. For there, watching me with a sad smile on his face, was Legolas.

~ Legolas ~
I sensed the anger drain away from Estel as she regained control over herself. I smiled. Giving Estel time to reflect and be by herself had been exactly what she had needed. If there was one thing I had learned around mortals, it was that because they didn't have forever, they hurried through everything. So, as a result, they often needed alone time.

Time which people like Estel and Eldarion didn't really get that often.

Then Estel turned around and jumped at the sight of me. I could practically taste her surprise as she fought to regain her composure. I offered her a sad, small smile.

"Legolas," she breathed. Then she regained control. "~You know, one day you're going to give me a heart attack.~"

I chuckled, and easily joined her in the Elvish tongue. "~Well, if I haven't done it by now, I would think that you would get used to it.~"

She scowled. "~You get used to almost always turning around to find an Elf hanging over you and let's see how well you fare!~"

My smile widened. Estel really had recovered. That was good. "~How are you feeling?~" I asked, knowing that she would understand the implied question.

She did. "~I feel . . . hurt,~" she murmured. "~All my life people have died for me. And now the most important of all of us has gone and fallen. It makes me wonder . . .~"

"~Wonder what?~" I prodded as she trailed off.

She waved it aside with a shrug. "~Just random thoughts. Where's my brother?~"

"~Off with the healers, trying to heal the men enough that they stop bawling,~" I said distastefully. I had gone with Eldarion at first; my knowledge of healing was greater than his because of my experience and I'd thought I would help or watch. But eventually, the noise and complaints had grated on my nerves so much that I rolled my eyes and given up.

Estel laughed softly. "~I see. And the King?~"
"~Closeted up with his councilors,~" I answered. "~But don't ask me why, because one, I haven't the faintest clue, and two, you probably know why anyway.~"

The happiness drained from Estel's expression. "~Yes, I know. An army from Isenguard is on the way here. We'll get a warning soon enough.~"

"~From Isenguard?~" I repeated, surprised. "~Saruman would dare to go that far?~"

Estel nodded. "~Yes. Without Gondor's aid, he believes that Rohan cannot defeat his army. And with Rohan out of way, he's got a clear field to crush Gondor between Mordor's forces and his own. Either way, we lose.~"

"~Wonderful. Just what I wanted to hear.~" I sighed. "~Are you planning to tell the King all of this, or are you just going to let him walk outside on patrol and see the army at our throats?~"

"~No, I won't tell him. Eldarion won't either, and neither should you.~"

"~So I should just let him find out the hard way?~" I asked sarcastically.

"~A messenger will come and tell the King soon,~" Estel explained. "~The King will find out before nightfall tonight.~"

"~Oh? A messenger? The King closed the gates. No one has gone in or out, Estel.~"

Estel frowned. "~That's strange. But someone's going to come. I just know it.~" She spoke with the calm assuredness of my people . . . which did not help my mood. Calm assuredness merely meant that she believed it would not – it did not mean it would happen. After all, who knew how many things had been upset by the arrival of Estel and Eldarion?

I sighed. "~I'll wait until a few hours before sunset,~" I said wearily. "~If no messenger arrives by then, I'll tell the King – ~"

Abruptly a horn sounded, startling the both of us and interrupting my sentence. "A rider is approaching!" someone shouted. "A rider!"

At once, other shouts sounded. "Tell the King!" "Barricade the gates!" "Identify that rider!" And a bunch for other meaningless shouts that simply annoyed me. My hearing was far greater than these mortals, and their shouting was starting to get on my nerves.

"~I take it you're going to meet with the rider?~" Estel asked as we strode away.

I nodded shortly. I wouldn't be fooled as easily as Men by the Dark Lord's servants, assuming this was one of them, and I had quicker reflexes to deal with him – or her, as the case may be. "~I'll go and see what they have to say, and I'll take them to the King myself – just to be sure,~" I replied. "~And you?~"

"~I'll go to Eldarion. He probably hasn't heard the shouts.~"

I nodded again. That sounded reasonable. "~Stay out of the fighting,~" I cautioned her as she separated from me. "~Your brother won't thank me for letting you get hurt on my watch.~"

Estel just rolled her eyes and hurried off.